


Ascending Waters

by loveanfriendship



Series: The Hunger Games Series [1]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family Drama, Friendship, Slow Romance, Twins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2020-10-13 08:36:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20579606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveanfriendship/pseuds/loveanfriendship
Summary: A chance encounter; when Finnick Odair met the twin children of Victor Isadora Brownell, he could never suspect how much the two would change his life. For better, and for worse...(hiatus)





	1. Story time

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> This isn't my first time diving into the Hunger Games fandom. This is a rewrite of my previous (deleted now) story that was called The Mirrored Tides. I do have all my old chapters from that story that I will be using for this story. 
> 
> I hope that you all enjoy this new and improved story of mine! 
> 
> Thanks for reading :) You guys are the best!!

"_Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can't remember who we are or why we're here._"

― Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees

* * *

"Did you love her right away?" Katniss asked Finnick quietly.

Finnick didn't bother looking at Katniss. Instead, he concentrated on the rope in his hands, tying the knot over and over again. It was an easy one that they learned when they first went to school. Loop here, throw this one over the top, tie it, loop once more, and repeat. Eventually, it became an automatic response as his mind swirled with memories.

Memories of her.

Memories of Kai.

Memories of the good times; where there was no pain, and they could just be themselves.

He missed those times with his best friends. The friendship that they had endured until it had come to an end. She had always been different, a good different, but was still always difficult in labelling as to precisely what she meant to him. However, Finnick had learned so much from both of them either way and now he was alone. For now, at least until they got her back. He hoped against hope that they got her back. She was the only one left.

/He needed her just like how he needed air to breathe. She was what he lived for now. To have her warmth beside him, her smiling up at him with those brown eyes dancing in mirth at some funny love poems he made up. To have her argue with him about his behaviour. To do the silly things that they did when they were alone. To gaze at her while she slept peacefully beside him...no nightmares, no ghosts, no hauntings of the world around them.

However, he hadn't known all of that back then. How could he have known that he'd love someone so much like this? Hadn't his mother told him that love sneaks up on you when you were least expecting it? He hadn't been expecting, but it happened. Moreover, he didn't regret a moment of it.

There were many things that he did regret when dealing with her. He lamented the life he had put on a show for. He regretted all of the sex he had to dish out to protect his loved ones. He regretted that she got tangled up in it all. Most of all, he regrets hurting her over and over again.

When all he wanted to do was to protect her.

However, after a while, it had become a routine. Go to the Capitol, put on his act, flirt with the people, lure them in with his sex appeal, get their secrets in exchange for a good time, and repeat. The sad part was that he had a hard time dropping his other persona when around anyone else at home. To genuinely be himself again. He may have been slightly disgusted by his behaviour, but it had been his life for the better part of it, and he could have easily just gone with the flow until his death.

"Finnick?" Katniss questioned quietly. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

He was aware of Katniss sitting next to him on the bed. He was aware that she was waiting for an answer, any answer really, from him. However, for some reason, his mind was stuck on her. On him. On the friendship that they had all shared and how it had shaped them all.

He felt the bed dip along with a frustrated sigh from Katniss. Then a desire, a deep need to tell someone the story. Their story. He needed to tell someone just in case they, the last two of the three, didn't make it out alive of this rebellion. They both deserve to have their story told, and he was confident that she wouldn't mind one bit. He knew that she would encourage him to tell Katniss. To carry on her brother's memory.

Finnick paused in the knot tying, glanced up at Katniss, who had just reached the door and was about to step out, and answered softly, "The simple answer is no. No, not right away. We weren't even really friends first. That took some time to happen. No, I owe it all to her brother for falling in love with her. Without him...I would never have given her the time of day."

Katniss paused mid-step. She narrowed her eyes slightly at Finnick in confusion. The look caused him to chuckle softly — the first real laugh he had made since _she _was taken away from him.

Patting the bed, he placed the rope away for later. Giving Katniss a hopeful look, he asked back, "You wanted to know if I loved her at first. The answer is a lot more complicated than that simple answer I just gave you. Let me tell you their story. You see, their story is entwined with my story and for me to answer your question, I need to tell you their story. Will you listen?"

Eagerness hit him, and he knew his face was lit up like a child on their birthday. He couldn't help it. He watched the girl on fire hopefully, eyeing her to see if she had changed her mind and then he would have to let the memories lie still.

There weren't many that knew their story. Only a handful of trustful people that included her living family. Who better to know their story than the Girl on Fire? A friend and an ally to them both.

Katniss nodded encouragingly, glad to get her mind off of the worry of what was happening to Peeta. She sat down beside Finnick, listening carefully to the story about to unfold, and sensed that he needed to let out the truth.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Finnick began to tell her, "As I said earlier: I owe my love for her because of him. He was important to her, and I met her through him. I do owe him everything that I have. However, we'll get to that in due time. You see, I was ten when I first set eyes on them."


	2. The Twins: Kai and Sorrel

"_My sister and I, you will recollect, were twins, and you know how subtle are the links which bind two souls which are so closely allied._"

― Arthur Conan Doyle

* * *

_Bang!_

Kai sat up groggily in his bed, rubbing his eye with a fist, peeking around his room for the source of the noise that had woken him up. A glance out the window told him all he needed to know: Sor had woken up early.

Groaning in irritation at his sister for not being quieter, Kai had half a mind to follow her just to bother her. He knew that she hated being disturbed when she was trying to draw something that caught her attention.

Another glance at the still slightly dark sky made him decide to go back to bed. If Sorrel were still down at the beach when he woke up, then he'd go bug her. Nodding to himself, Kai was quick to snuggle back down into his bed and go back to sleep.

The next thing he knew, something was poking him hard along with a soft voice repeating, "Kai. Kai. Kaaii. It's time to wake up, Kai. Mags started breakfast for us."

He curled his fingers around the finger that was about to poke him again. Lifting his head up off his pillow, he narrowed his dark brown eyes at Sorrel's gleaming mischief eyes. "I'm up," he said grouchily.

Sorrel looked pleased by his reaction if her wide, happy smile was anything to go by. He felt her finger poke his cheek again before she was running out of the room, giggling to herself. Groaning, he let his head fall back onto his pillow and glanced at his clock.

6:45

The time blinked red back at him causing him to groan louder. It was way too early to be up at this time. "Stupid school," he grumbled under his breath, kicking his comforter off of him.

By the time Kai got downstairs, he was tugging his long-sleeved shirt over his head. Bumping into the table, he heard a giggle, and then a chair being pushed back. Next thing he knew, his sister was in front of him, hands ruffling his hair before she was giggling again.

Shoving her off of him, Kai glowered at her and snapped, "What the heck?! What's that all about?"

Grinning like a madwoman, Sorrel kept her voice innocent, "You had bed head. I was just fixing it up. It looks much better now that it's back to normal."

Grumbling as he patted down his, he huffed out, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just top with it, Sor. You're just making it worse."

Instead, Sorrel stuck her tongue out at him, with her eyes gleaming mischievously just as she tackled him to the ground. Kai let out a surprised yelp, body hitting the ground before he realized what had happened. Not missing a beat, he quickly rolled them around, struggling to gain control as they fought over fixing his hair.

A slight cough had them both stop mid-fight. Kai had Sorrel's head in a headlock while she was digging her elbow into his stomach to get out of it. Both of them smiled up at Mags sheepishly and said at the same time, "Hello Mags."

Smiling fondly down at them, Mags waved the spatula at them and gestured towards the kitchen, "Now, now. There is a time for fighting, playing or serious wise, and this is not the time. Tidy yourselves up and get your butts to the table. I have breakfast ready for you."

Sorrel and Kai looked up slowly with sheepish smiles on their faces. Glancing at each other, they let the other one go, stumbling a bit before standing up with their clothes rumbled and hair standing up on end.

"Yes, Mags," they both echoed, racing to the table and started eating.

For a while, the only sounds were of forks scraping against the plates and munching of food before Sorrel swallowed her mouthful of food. Wiping her mouth, she asked hesitantly, "Mags? Mom got drunk again last night, didn't she? That's why you're here taking care of us."

Kai gave his sister a pointed look, knowing from past experiences that their mom would find out and it would lead to another argument between the two girls of his family. "Sor...stop it."

Glancing at him briefly, Sorrel shook her head stubbornly. "No, I won't stop it. She's passed out cold in her bed. Again. If she really cared, then mom would be out here making us breakfast instead of Mags."

Seeing that a fight was about to break out between the twins, Mags interrupted them both. "Isadora has her reasons for drinking as she does. Anyone would do the same if they experienced what she had. Or they'd act out. Which she did, and you both know the consequences to act like that."

Grimacing at the reminder, Sorrel remembered precisely what happened the last time someone bad mouthed President Snow. Apparently, Kai remembered also as he spoke quietly, "We know, Mags. Like that guy from a few years ago. He talked back to President Snow after winning his game and then killed himself shortly after. But what does that have to do with mom?"

Taking note of the curiosity in them, Mags closed her eyes before warning them, "That is not my story to tell you both. If, and when, the time comes that you need to know Isadora will tell you both herself. For now, go easy on her. She's trying the best she can as a single parent. Keep in mind that she loves you both very much. Even if she has trouble showing it."

Nodding, Kai pushed the plate away from him. Not bothering to see if his sister was done or not, he grabbed her by the arm. Saying goodbye to Mags, he waited until they were outside before asking, "Really, Sor? Was bashing mom like that necessary?"

"I wasn't bashing her!" Sorrell crossed her arms defensively. "I want to know why mom drinks. She never tells us anything about her past. She won't even let us see our grandparents! Grandparents that are still very much alive. Doesn't that bother you, Kai?"

Ruffling his hair with a frustrated sigh, Kai rolled his eyes and angled his body towards his sister. "Don't you think that there is a reason for all of this like Mags said? A reason why mom drinks? A reason why she doesn't talk about anything of her past? I think there is a reason and it's there to protect us."

"Protect us?!" Sorrel scoffed. "Protect us from what exactly? It's not exactly like we're anymore safe than the rest of the District."

"I don't know, Sor. I mean, we have more benefits than most. Even more than Career trained kids. We get a good home, food all the time, the best teachers for training, and we get acknowledged by everyone for being a Victor's kid." Kai listed off on his fingers as he spoke.

Grunting softly, Sorrel turned to look at the ocean. "I guess those things are nice. I mean, we don't have to worry about going hungry or without a roof. But I hate getting looked at like I'm just a shadow of mom. It sucks. At least they acknowledge you for being you."

Frowning, Kai gripped Sorrel's arm softly. "Sor...you aren't a shadow of mom. You're you. Your Sorrel. My pesky twin sister that loves bugging me all the time. You can't be anything but that."

Watery, red eyes looked up at him. "I am?" She asked quietly, fearing his answer would change.

"You are." He reassured her. Pausing, he asked softly, "You know that you can tell me anything right? Then why have been so pushy about mom these past few months?"

Hiccupping, Sorrel wiped at her eyes before she started crying. Kicking the ground, the wind blew her hair into her face which she brushed back. "I just want mom to be a mom," she admitted quietly.

Throwing an arm around Sorrel's shoulders, Kai pulled her into a one-armed hug. "I know," he murmured. "But we have each other when it counts the most. No matter what, I'll always be here for you."

Leaning against her brother, Sorrel squeezed her eyes shut to keep the tears at bay. Blowing out a shaky breath to calm herself, she pushed back with a grin. "Race ya to school!" she yelled, taking off in a rush.

Kia made a strangled sound, staring stupidly at his sister's fleeing back. Wondering briefly how Sorrel could switch from angry to playful so fast, he shook his head before a small smile played against his lips.

It didn't matter. All that mattered was that Sorrel was happy and safe. So, with a growing grin, Kai took off after her, yelling back, "Sorrel! No fair! You just cheated!"

The answering laugh was all that Kai needed to hear. He would just never tell her that he allowed her to win this round when they arrived at the school, all out of breath and laughing breathlessly.


	3. Friends and Frenemies

"_Each friend represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born._"

Anais Nin

* * *

"Now class. I know you're wondering why it's taken me two weeks to tell you this, but rest assured that this is going to be a learning experience that you will greatly need!" Mrs. Bluebell announced once everyone was sitting in their seats once more.

Glancing up at her teacher, Sorrel slumped against her desk, ignoring the murmurs coming from her classmates. Brushing her hair out of her face, she bit back a sigh when she felt eyes on the back of her head. Turning her head to the side slightly, she caught Kai's concerned gaze. Giving him a small smile, to which he frowned, she gave a slight shake of her head to reassure him that she was okay.

"Mhm, ah, here we go! All attention to the front, please!" Mrs. Bluebell said. Once she had the entire class's attention, she continued on, "Now, I know that most of you here are being trained already for the annual Hunger Games that you'll be able to participate in starting in two years. To help you get even more ready, I will be putting you into pairs."

A hand shot up, interrupting Mrs. Bluebell. A small-looking girl sat anxiously in her seat, asked in a whisper, "Mrs. Bluebell? How do you plan on doing up the pairs? There are more boys than girls in our class."

"Oh! An excellent question, Maya!" Mrs. Bluebell exclaimed. "You are correct in the fact that in our class there are more boys than girls. How I plan on doing that is making most of you paired up with the opposite gender. The ones that are leftover will get paired up with another boy. While it won't be ideal, it will still give you all that partnership that you'll experience in the actual games."

Pausing, Mrs. Bluebell looked around critically before telling them, "There will be a few rules. The partner that you get will be sitting beside you for the rest of the year. Your partner will be your partner for any team assignments. Group assignments will be considered an alliance. While you will rely on your partner for the rest of the year, in group assignments, it will be very much like working in an alliance with the other Careers."

Sorrel's mouth went into a tight line as Mrs. Bluebell explained the rules. The more this "partnership" got revealed, the unhappier Sorrel became. By the time Mrs. Bluebell was about to start calling out names, she let them know of one last rule.

"One last thing class. Your partner will be someone that you wouldn't really know." Here she gave a pointed look at the twins, "And it will be someone that can teach you something and vice versa."

_That's stupid! Mrs. Bluebell just said that cause she doesn't have Kai and me on the same team!_ Sorrel whined to herself, letting her chin hit her desk with a pout on her lips. Ignoring the names being called, Sorrel sighed and tried to cheer herself up, "Maybe not having Kai as a partner will be a good thing. Maybe I can actually make a friend!"

Feeling slightly better at that prospect, Sorrel perked up when her name was called. Sitting up straight, she leaned forward in anticipation.

"Rio Lucas will be partnered up with Sorrel Brownell. Rio, if you could please move your stuff over to the desk beside Sorrel's and push it up against hers," Mrs. Bluebell explained kindly before continuing on with the list.

A small boy with sand coloured hair and hazel eyes sauntered up to her desk. Scouting over, Sorrel opened her mouth to introduce herself but stopped short. Instead, she watched him dump his stuff onto the desk beside her before pulling it over.

Wincing at the screeching sound, Sorrel waited until he got settled beside her before blurting out, "Um...hi. I'm Sorrel."

Rio glanced at her in a way that caused her to wince, shrinking into herself, but he never answered her. Instead, he turned his attention up to the front and waited patiently for Mrs. Bluebell to be done.

Letting out a small sigh, Sorrel slumped onto her desk. _Great. Just my luck to be stuck with someone that doesn't even acknowledge me when I say something. At least I can say that's a first. But maybe Rio will warm up to me by lunch and we can play together!_

But for the rest of the morning, Rio never once said a word to her. By the time the bell rang for lunch, he was rushing off to his other friends before she could even ask him to play. _Oh well. We haven't even been partners for a full day yet...maybe he's scared of who mom is? Mom can be scary when she wants to be...but she never shows that side outside of home. But that doesn't matter! I'm sure we'll become friends once we get to know each other, and as mom says...it takes a lot of time to honestly know someone. And it's only two weeks into the school year._

Shrugging off the pang of loneliness, Sorrel grabbed her sketchbook, along with her lunch, and made her way outside. She was pretty sure that Kai would be bringing his partner over to introduce them. That in itself was another opportunity to make another friend.

Feeling better with a new plan in place, Sorrel hummed to herself as she stepped outside, stretching out her arms with a sigh of relief. The sun beat down on her, and she tilted her head up to enjoy the warmth it was radiating. She took in a deep breath when the saltiness of the sea breeze swept across the schoolyard.

Giving a quick look around, she frowned when she didn't spot Kai anywhere. But that didn't mean anything since it could very well mean that her brother was still inside with his partner. She hoped that he was having a better time with whoever his partner was than she was with Rio.

Turning her attention away from thoughts of her brother, Sorrel looked around for a quiet place to eat and draw. Lunch break was the one thing she liked about school. It gave her time to herself, able to draw peacefully with Kai, usually sitting beside her watching her draw, before having to go in and learn more about District Four and their industry. It wasn't that she didn't like learning about this kind of stuff because she did, but at the same time, it wasn't something she really needed to know. She had no need to use any of it.

She and Kai were taught everything that every other kid in District Four was taught. Everything from swimming, knot tying, net weaving, fishing and the different types of fish, operating a boat, how to tell when a storm was coming, and deboning and skinning a fish. Even though they knew it all, it still made fitting in with the other kids hard. They just seemed to act differently around them compared to all the other children. Deep down, Sorrel knew that the real reason they did was that their parents told them to respect the children of the more well-known Victor of Four.

Hearing children's laughter, Sorrel gazed out longingly at the rest of the children playing a game of tag. Yet knowing that if she went over there asking to join in on the fun, they'd just stop playing the game and make it so that she was the winner all the time. And there was no fun in that at all.

"Why did it have to be us that were her kids?" she muttered under her breath, tearing her eyes away from the scene longingly.

Spotting Rio, Sorrel raised her hand to wave at him before noticing that the group of boys he was with were all staring at her. He leaned forward, whispering something to them before they all burst out laughing, not even bothering to hide that they were pointing at her. She thought she saw a flash of guilt on Rio's face, but Sorrel wasn't really sure as she spun around and continued on with her search for a quiet spot.

Gripping her sketchbook tighter, Sorrel tried to ignore the fact that her face felt hot. Looking around once more, hopefully, this time, for her brother, frustration and dejection started to build up inside her. Curling her nails into her hands, Sorrel blew out a sharp breath and decided to go to her usual spot. At least Kai would definitely know where she would be.

Leaning against the fence that blocked the schoolyard in, Sorrel opened her sketchbook up to the picture she hadn't been able to finish this morning. Not being able to find the energy to start touching it up, she placed it on her lap and started to eat her tuna salad sandwich.

"Sor! There you are! I've been looking all over for you. I wasn't sure if you'd be here or somewhere else."

Head snapping up with a glare on her face, and ready to give her brother a piece of her mind if he continued that sentence, another presence standing beside Kai caught her attention. Cocking her head curiously, she studied the boy in front of her. Bronze hair, sea-green eyes, face still a bit on the chubby side though a quick glance at his body indicated that he might be training. Though she knew for sure that he wasn't a Career-in-training. She would definitely remember seeing him at the academy, which meant that this boy must be Kai's partner.

Tearing her gaze away from the boy, who's ears had gone pink while she was staring at him, she asked her brother, "Got a guy partner then?"

Kai gave her a deadpan stare, sitting down beside her, and elbowed her in the ribs. "Really? You didn't even bother to pay attention to who my partner was?"

Not bothering to deny it, she shot back, "Yes, really. I was too excited to meet my own partner." Shoving her thumb in Rio's direction, she muttered, "Not that it really mattered. He didn't even say hi to me."

Bumping her shoulder, Kai reassured her, "I'm sure he'll warm up to you. But yeah, I got a male partner, and I can honestly say that I'm pretty with him."

"And he is standing right here," the boy interrupted, looking strangely amused by their banter.

Flushing now, Sorrel was quick to apologize, "Sorry! We were raised better than to be rude to people. It's just...we don't normally have other kids around us at lunch…"

"And what my twin sister means is that I probably should introduce the two of you." Kai butted in. Gesturing between them, he said, "Sor meet Finnick. Finnick meet Sorrel. Or Sor for short."

Huffing at her brother for giving out her nickname as just anyone could use it, she held out a hand to Finnick. "It's nice to meet you, Finnick. You might as well sit down. Kai won't be leaving until the bell rings for class again."

Sorrel felt a tiny bit of guilt when the poor boy looked uncomfortable but sat down anyway. There was an awkwardness now that she was unsure of how to break, so she went back to eating her lunch and let Kai take over the conversation. Managing to finish her lunch, Sorrel was quite content to reopen her sketchbook without even remembering that there was another person with them today.

"What are you drawing? It doesn't look like anything from Four."

The question caught her off guard. Peering up at Finnick, who'd asked the question, Sorrel eyed him warily. She didn't like showing other people her drawings for the simple fact that they could make fun of her for it. She knew that she wasn't outstanding yet, but she wanted to become good. To have people outside her family and Mags to take an interest in them.

So, it came as a surprise to her to see the honest curiosity on Finnick's face. She couldn't detect any signs of maliciousness or tease off of him. He genuinely wanted to see what she was drawing. A glance at Kai, who gave her an encouraging nod, had excitement blossom within her. For the first time in her life, she was excited to hear an outside opinion of her drawings.

"That's because it's not," she said.

"It looks like a...cow?" Kai suggested, leaning over to get a better look.

"A cow?" Finnick asked confusedly.

"Yup! A cow. At least, I'm pretty sure that's what a cow looks like. You see I saw a cloud this morning that looked like this shape. I've never seen a cow before in my life, but I believe mom said that there are cows in District Ten? Or maybe it was another district," Sorrel explained. "I'll have to ask mom or Mags when we get home."

Leaning forward, Finnick asked excitedly, "Can I see it?"

"Yeah, Sor. Why don't you give us a better look?" Kai suggested backing Finnick up.

"Um...I suppose you can," She muttered, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden.

Gathering up her courage, she laid her open sketchbook down in front of them. Smiling proudly at them, she exclaimed, "See? A cow. A pretty good one for my first time trying to draw one, don't you think?"

The smile started to fade when neither boy said anything. Shifting uncomfortable, feeling the familiar tendrils of uncertainty worm it's way into her, she hesitantly asked, "Well...guys? What do you think of it?"

That uncertainty grew when Kai finally answered slowly, "It's...good...for the first time trying." Seeing the hurt on her face, Kai was quick to remind her, "It's like you said you've never seen a cow before. I'm sure once you ask mom or Mags, maybe even both, then it'll become better."

"Better!?" Sorrel snapped, hands shaking. Though she wasn't sure if it was the growing anger, the uncertainty, or the hurt. Probably all three. Turning to Finnick, she asked once again, "What do you think of it? Is it as bad as Kai is making it out to be?"

"My brother could draw better than that," he said without thinking.

Going still, Sorrel's mouth fell open in shock. She watched as Finnick wince as he realized what he had just said. Kai had gone pale, his hand snapping around her wrist as he tried to calm her down, "Sor...I'm sure Finnick wasn't thinking…"

Jumping in, Finnick tried to explain himself, "Wait! I didn't mean that... that's not...your drawing is good!"

Chest heaving, Sorrel couldn't form any words as she felt her dreams come crashing around her. Had they been lying to her all this time by saying her drawings were good? Had her mom and Mags meant any of their words of encouragement? Or was it simply because this was her first time drawing something outside of District Four?

Doubt hit her, causing her to snag her hand away from Kai's grip. "Don't touch me!" She snapped, hurt and anger, taking control over her mouth. "And don't bother lying to me and now saying that it's good. Obviously, it's not if...if...however old your brother is...can draw better than me!"

With that, Sorrel snatched up her sketchbook, ignored her brother's shouts for her or Finnick's apologies as she stormed away. Hiding her face behind her hair, Sorrel blinked rapidly to keep the tears at bay. It sucked enough that she knew her face was going to be blotchy, eyes rimmed red, and that Rio would probably be making fun of her again for it. But she couldn't help it. Not when she felt her dreams come crashing down around her.

Her second chance at having an actual friend was gone. Her drawings were worth nothing and were no good. The teacher had paired her up with someone that seemed to only like making fun of her, and she knew that if she went home crying to her mom about this, she'd just be told to suck it up and put on a brave face to prove them wrong. But her mom wasn't here, and Sorrel didn't feel like putting on a brave face.

No.

She wanted to be angry. And as her anger grew, the wilder her thoughts went until she latched onto one that made sense to her.

_Maybe Finnick is just using Kai and me as a means to get to mom?_

It wouldn't be the first time someone had tried to do that. Though it would be the first time for a kid to do so, by now, Sorrel wouldn't pass anyone. A lot of grownups treated them very well in hopes of getting something from her mom, especially the men. Mom never seemed to take the bait and would instead just drag her and Kai away, making them promise to never go near them again.

He'd insulted her drawing (she blocked out the fact that Kai had been the first one to do so. The betrayal she felt at that was incomprehensible to her). Besides, nobody insulted her drawings.

No one!

And she'd never forgive Finnick for doing so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I apologize for the long wait on this chapter! Life got the better of me, but I can assure you all that I'm doing better now and I do have a somewhat plan to keep on updating my stories.
> 
> Also, this chapter was split into two different ones because it was getting a tad too long for my liking. So the second part will be up sometime next month since it's mostly written out. I just need to fix it up a lot better! 
> 
> Keep safe everyone!


End file.
